It took several weeks, a coaching change, and then a shoot-out, but the Yorkton RawTec Maulers have their third win of the Saskatchewan AAA Midget Hockey League season.
The victory came Sunday at the Farrell Agencies Arena in a comeback over visiting Moose Jaw.
The Generals started things with a pair of first period goals by Casey McDonald to give Moose Jaw a 2-0 lead after 20-minutes of play.
McDonald would complete a natural hat trick which spanned two periods adding his third of the afternoon 5:35 into the middle stanza.
Josh Peppler would finally put the Maulers on the scoreboard with a powerplay marker at 12:15.
Moving to the third period Garrett Ellis drew the Maulers to within one 3:15 into the frame.
Jesse Swanson would tie the game with an unassisted effort at the mid-way point of the third.
In the deciding shoot-out Mauler netminder Kael DePape would turn away all three Moose Jaw shooters, while Peppler scored the game-winner for the Maulers.
“We got the first win. It was nice to get it,” said recently installed interim head coach Dalane Lamb.
Lamb said finally getting another win was something the players can use in terms of “some confidence for the guys to build on.”
The two teams had met a day earlier, and the score was not as close.
Saturday the Generals started quickly when Ben Peterson scored 2:28 into the opening period.
Goals by Ben Wourms-Rowe and Evan Sare extended the Moose Jaw lead to 3-0 by the end of the opening frame.
Casey McDonald and Sare with his second of the night would add to the General lead in the second, making it 5-0 through 40-minutes of play.
McDonald’s second of the game, a short-handed effort 46-seconds into the third, made it 6-0, before Austin Dycer finally put the Maulers on the board.
It would prove the only Yorkton goal while Kemp would get his second of the night to round out a 7-1 Moose Jaw win.
“It wasn’t the greatest showing,” admitted Lamb, adding every team over the course of the season has games where they just don’t get rolling.
But, the loss wasn’t something that lingered with the Maulers.
“The bounce back on Sunday was awesome to see,” said Lamb, adding it was not just a bounce back from the lopsided loss Saturday, but from being down 3-0 in the game Sunday.
“They really could have folded their tent, but they responded,” said Lamb, noting “we had a really good second period and a better third,” which was enough to get to overtime and the eventual win.
The two teams will meet again this Saturday in Moose Jaw.
To keep the momentum of the win going, Lamb said he wants the team to stay the course in terms of working on what they do well.
“It’s staying positive and sticking to our game plan. Stick to what we do well and what we want to do in a game,” he said.
The weekend split leaves the Maulers in the league basement with six points based on a 3-22 record, eight points back of Moose Jaw.
The Saskatoon Blazers have a league-best 39 points on a record of 19-6-0-1.
